Buying A DVD Player.

shaz77_2

I'm going to a buy DVD player as a Christmas present, I know very little about them.

Will every DVD player be able to record from the TV or will this only be selected DVD players?

Thanks

albionrovers

You want a DVD recorder, not a DVD player. Which makes them a fair bit more expensive.

Also worth noting that they're on the way out. A PVR is the way to go these days. Personal Video Recorder, with hard-disk drive for storage.

savemoney

If you want a good one with hdmi, upscales to full HD 1080p will do 1080i, 720p etc, and plays XviD get the Philips 5990 it will play XviD from a usb pen drive too

I have one and the 5980 upscales to 1080i and both are miles better than the Sumvision Phoenix

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-DVP5990-05-1080p-Player/dp/B001BL4OU4/ref=sr_1_1/275-0109516-3827750?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1228913407&sr=8-1

If you want to record I prefer a PVR than DVD for ease of use Humax 9200 or the other models they do. Dont buy Liteon DVD writers if they still sell them mine was utter rubbish, most dvd recorders last time I looked were mainly terrestrial tuners rather than digital ones which look rubbish on a LCD/Plasma screen

DatabaseError

if the people you are buying for have a sky tv subsription, then the sky+ box is better suited for them

shaz77_2

Thanks guys for the feedback.

Based on the information given I did a little shopping around yesterday and came across the following DVD recorders:

Sony - RDR-HXD890 - £230
Samsung - SH871M - £210
RDR GX 890- £229
Philips - 5500 - £150

I also had a guy from MSE PM me about an 'Acoustic solutions dvdrw 300'.

What do you guys know about the above DVD recorders, are they value for money? The people I am buying for do not have Sky, I am particularly interested to know if these recorders will be compatible when the digital switch-over happens and if the new 'blue ray disk' will make these DVD recorders obsolete.

Thanks again.

savemoney

Make sure you get one with digital tuner I never use analogue tuners myself they look awful on modern tv's plus they will be defunct by 2012 at latest

trcooke

I have the Sony - RDR-HXD890 and would highly recommend it. The main thing I like about it is that it is a very good 1080p upscaler for normal DVD's and also for stuff you've recorded on it. Forget about the RDR-GX890 as this is essentially the same unit without the internal hard disk for recording programs onto and from your research it's the same price as the HDX890.

Edit: I forgot to mention the one negative. The built in Digital Tuner is a bit weak.

The price of the Sony seems to be coming down a bit now. I bought mine about 18 months ago from our staff shop for £185 at which time the retail was somewhere between £300 and £400 (I think).

I'm afraid I don't have anything to say about the Samsung or the Philips as I've not used them.

hinx

Hi there i am also looking for a DVD recorder for my mam, she is currently recording using video. i have come across quite a few DVD recorders under £100 found by the comparison site 'foundem'. but some of them don't have good reviews. i really want something very easy to use and which won't stress my mam out. she has got cable in but i don't understand much about recording straight from TV to hard drives plus i am not sure it would be possible for my mam as she only has basic package and quite an old TV.

thanks hinx

former_student

Will DVD players be able to play 'Blue Ray Disks'?

Marty_J

former_student wrote: »

Will DVD players be able to play 'Blue Ray Disks'?

No, it's a totally different format.

DCFC79

former_student wrote: »

Will DVD players be able to play 'Blue Ray Disks'?

to play blu ray you need a blu ray player or a ps3 as blu ray is standard in a ps3